House Post Figure

This carved and painted figure, made by the Kambot people of the Lower Sepik region of Papua New Guinea, was not originally created as a stand-alone sculpture.

It formed part of a large post supporting the roof of a ceremonial house. Ceremonial houses throughout the Pacific Islands were often decorated with imagery associated with the given community’s historical and mythical past. This figure is thought to represent one of the Kambot’s founding ancestors, whose spirit would at times occupy the house post.

Carved with figures like these, posts served as the physical supports of the ceremonial house as well as the symbolic foundation for the society that would congregate within the space. The center of artistic and religious life for the Kambot men’s society, the ceremonial house was the backdrop for a variety of rituals, including those associated with rites of passage and social elevation. Images like this one contain iconography that would be understood only by initiates or leaders of the society. In this way, they carried the added function of affirming community identity and belonging.